Love Letters to my Best Friend
by kingofthenerdz
Summary: A drunken one night stand at the end of the war leads to so much more than what they could've ever thought was in store for them.
1. The Beginning and The End

She had drunk far too much wine, that much she knew. She was definitely not the only one, but she hadn't realised how much she had drank until she wasn't acting like herself. Stumbling away from the party, she tried to find somewhere to sit until she sobered up. Instead, she fell over someone.

"I was sitting there." The voice was familiar, but it took her a moment to place it.

"I was walking there." She said, picking herself up off the floor. Jason was looking back at her, a bottle of wine in his hands.

"Are you sat here on your own?" He cocked his head at her. He'd been drinking too, she figured. They all had reason to celebrate, but someone definitely should've been stopping them… Oh. That should probably have been her.

"I needed some fresh air. I think I might be drunk." Reyna giggled. Oh gods, she was _giggling_?

"I think you might be too." She sat down next to him.

"Well, if you can't beat them…" She heard him laugh next to her.

"Hey, I've got an idea." He jumped to his feet, swaying slightly before pulling her up with him.

"I just sat down!" She protested, but she allowed him to lead her away. They headed towards her office, which he unlocked- she didn't know he still had that key- and they almost fell into the room.

"And why are we in here?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Because I like spending time in here. Also, jelly beans." He'd swapped the bottle for the bowl on her desk and had started picking through them. Reyna dived for him.

"You always pick out the good ones, Jason just eat them all, for the gods sake!"

He held the bowl above her head, knowing that after his growth spurt while he'd been away she wouldn't be able to reach. She just threw herself at him instead, using her weight to knock them both over. They lay there for a moment, and she smiled in victory.

If you asked either of them which one kissed the other one first, they would've both said it wasn't them.

They were tangled in each other, a mess of limbs and loose pieces of clothing when Jason finally pulled away.

"Wait… We can't… Do we even have any protection?" Reyna shut him up with a kiss.

"Doesn't matter, I can't have kids." He pulled back at that, sobering for a moment.

"Jason, seriously now is not the time to talk about this."

"Should we be doing this?" She sat up and had a good look at him. _Oh gods, he'd filled out nicely._

"Do you want to have sex with me?" She was blunt, but she supposed she had to be to get through that thick skull of his.

"Definitely."

"Then why are we still talking?" She leant down again, and they didn't talk for a long time.

It was morning before they woke, tangled in a mess of togas and limbs. They didn't talk now. What could they both say? They know what they did was wrong, and they weren't exactly going to linger on anything that was said or done while they were both intoxicated. She didn't regret it in that she knew that she wanted to do it, hell, she'd probably do it again, but she regretted that he had a girlfriend and that they had done that to someone who didn't deserve it.

The rest of the day was spent organising who would accompany the Greeks back to their camp, a job that Reyna really hadn't been looking forward to. Quite a few curious people had put themselves forward to go with them, which was a good sign, but sorting who would be appropriate to send was a task within itself.

And then they were setting off, and Reyna realised that she hadn't even said goodbye to the person she had spent the previous night getting to know better than she ever had before.

 _Reyna,_

 _After talking to Chiron, he suggested that we keep correspondence by letter, so that when we cannot get hold of each other through Iris message, we can still organise what needs to be done this way. It has also been suggested that you and Frank visit with a group of volunteers once a month to oversee the integration and relation building yourself, and to possibly work up to giving campers the choice to move freely between camps to learn as much as they can._

 _In other news, I'm going to be heading back to school in the city with Percy in the fall. I might as well try and get some qualifications now I'm not constantly in fear of death. Hopefully it will stay that way. I'm sorry we had to leave so quickly the night after the celebration, Chrion wanted us to get to work as soon as possible. I can't wait to see you again._

 _Jason_

Her monthly visits to Camp Half Blood proved a success, and it was almost a year before everything was set up for campers from both sides of America to move between the camps as they pleased, picking and choosing what they wanted to spend time on. She would end the visit by spending the night with Jason- on the pretence of seeing all her friends, but secretly, she enjoyed their time together. They grew closer than ever through that year, and she was glad to be finally able to call him her best friend again, despite them almost always giving into their desires. She could be herself completely around him, and vice versa. She loved him, but in a different way to what it was before. It was reciprocated, yes, but it wasn't romantic. It was something she couldn't find words for.

Two years passed quickly, and before she knew it, they were beginning to graduate high school.

 _Jason,_

 _I've given some thought to our last conversation, and I've made a decision. I'll be retiring from the legion as of the end of the summer and attending college in New York. It will be strange being away from my home, but I believe that it is time to move on, and I think that attending college will be a new kind of adventure for me. I'm glad to hear that you're taking a year out before deciding if you want to go to college, seeing you get a "normal" job in that year will be the most rewarding thing about the move across the country. Thanks for your concern, but I think I will find accommodation with the freshmen rather than staying with you. I don't think that that would be a good idea, and I do not think that your girlfriend would appreciate me living there._

 _Reyna_

Reyna,

I can't believe it's almost Christmas already! You're still welcome to come to Sally's for dinner with me and Leo, but I know you want to spend the holiday with your sister. I've attached gifts from me, Leo and Piper, so I hope I've sent this before you've set off. Annabeth said she would leave something with your roommate when she gets to the city. Thank you for the jumper, I assume you thought that you were very funny when you picked that out. I however, put thought and care into your present, something that I will not be doing again.

Jason

 _Jason,_

 _Freshman year is over and so is your gap year! I can't believe they are actually going to be giving you a position of responsibility- see, even mortals know you're a good leader. I guess it just shows that you don't always need a college education to get places. It was nice seeing you last weekend, it's a shame we don't get to spend more time together now, but I suppose with me heading back to San Francisco for the summer, we'll have to get used to not spending as much time together, something I know that you will lament about more than I. When I come back we shall definitely have to get together, there are a few sparring moves I have remembered that I want to try out on you, if you would let me._

 _Reyna_

Reyna,

It's been too long since I have had you. I want to slide my hands up your…

 _Jason,_

 _I have destroyed that last letter. It was appreciated, but in the interest of your dignity, it has been burned._

 _Reyna_

Reyna,

I got carried away. I apologise. I will have to talk to you in person.

Jason

 _Jason,_

 _Why do we bother sending these letters anymore? We live barely fifteen minutes walk from one another, do you not think it is time to stop? Or get mobile phones? How was work this week? Still struggling to get your ideas heard, or is Damien still being a complete bag of dicks? It's coming up to exam season, and they've started pestering me to think about what I want to do with my life. Truth be told, I really don't know. I'm still taking a massive range of courses, which perplexes them massively, they don't know what to do with me. I also heard through the grapevine that you've just spent the weekend with Thalia, how is she?_

 _Reyna_

Reyna,

I thought girls liked all this romantic letter writing crap? And it's just become a habit now, I guess. I get home from work, and I write a letter or a note to you. Believe it or not, when you can't speak back to me, you make an extremely good listener. Damien got put in his place when the Councillor came in one afternoon and decided he didn't like his attitude and he wanted to hear some of my ideas for his re-election campaign. That was a very good day. You still don't know? How long are you going to spend in college? Ten years? More? I know you're only two years in, but come on! Thalia is really good, thank you for remembering. I know you weren't happy when I told her about us, and before you ask, no she still does not approve. I know she wants me to be happy, so she would never dream of saying anything about it though. Me and Piper are heading to LA next week, her dad wanted us to go to his premier. Apparently he's in the movie of the year or something. Last time I was there, he was pressuring me to make an honest woman out of his daughter, but you know I don't feel that way anymore. I love her, and I always will, but she's my friend. I think she knows it too, but I'm scared of hurting her.

Jason

They'd talked about this a few times. He wouldn't leave Piper unless she left him. He had always been scared of letting people down, and the idea of hurting her made him close up and not want to talk about it. At some point, she would have to find out about their affair, but Reyna doubted that it would ever come from Jason.

 _Reyna,_

 _It's been a while since we wrote to each other like this, since you moved to New York but I've got some news. Me and Pipes have decided to get married. It's not going to happen right away, I mean we don't even live together yet! I know I should've told you this face to face, but I think it would be better this way. We might've talked about how I feel about her, but I think this is probably the smartest move. I couldn't bear to hurt her, and I know I'm hurting you too by doing this, but this is probably best for all of us. I hope you can forgive me. I couldn't bear to lose you. You're my closest friend._

 _Jason_

The engagement party was dreadfully boring, as she had predicted. As Jason's best friend, she was obligated to attend, but it didn't mean that she wanted to. Ever since the letter had arrived, she had been dreading the moment she would have to se the "happy" couple together. Even knowing that he didn't love her like that anymore still didn't stop it hurting to see them together. Especially since he was just doing this to "do the right thing". Why he thought pretending that he was happy was the right thing, she didn't know, but she wasn't about to question his judgement now. Thank the gods for champagne.

Annabeth made her way across the room to her side.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"You know these formal gatherings aren't really my thing." Reyna sighed. "I know I'm his best friend, but I wish sometimes I didn't have to come to parties like this."

"I know how you feel. The amount of demigods and mortals in here is making me edgy." They looked around the room. Almost everyone they knew had turned up to wish them well. Aphrodite had been and gone, full of well wishes for them both. Hera hadn't shown, and Reyna knew that Jason was unsettled by this. Her approval meant a lot to him, and he was clearly worried he had offended her. Which, judging from the… activities Reyna and Jason had been taking part in for the last six years, she probably had been. In fact, she definitely had been. Jason was supposed to be her hero, and they were doing something that was very against her domain. Reyna bet that there would be some consequence to this at some point in her life, but for now, they appeared to be in the clear.

"So when are you and Percy going to tie the knot then?" Reyna asked innocently as Annabeth sipped her champagne. She choked and turned a deep red colour.

"We weren't… I… We're not… Uh…."

Reyna had to laugh.

"I'm messing with you, Annabeth. You'll get there in your own time. You guys are crazy about each other, it doesn't matter when, but it'll happen." Annabeth pulled a face.

"When did you become the love expert?" Reyna shrugged.

"It's you two. If there's any couple that everybody knows is going to be together and actually last, it's going to be you two."

"Are you not settling down anytime soon then?" Reyna shook her head, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jason making his excuses and heading over to the corner they were stood in.

"Hey, Annabeth- do you mind if I steal Reyna for a minute? I've got something important I have to ask her."

"Not at all. I've got to go find Percy anyway. He's not good at these things. If I lose him, he'll probably get drunk. Or hurt. Or both." Annabeth smiled at the two of them and headed back into the crowd.

"Hey, can we go somewhere a bit more quiet?" Jason asked. Reyna nodded sipping her champagne, and Jason led them away from the party and upstairs. The hotel they had rented for this occasion was lovely. Not far from Camp Half Blood the views of the countryside were almost idyllic. Jason led them into one of the rooms and sat down on the bed.

"Hey, this better not be some kind of sex thing." He held his hands up.

"I swear it's not. I seriously wanted to ask you something." She narrowed her eyes at him and did not sit down.

"I want you to be my best man."

"Are you serious?" He nodded.

"You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I want you to do this for me?"

"Because you've been cheating on your fiancée with me for the last six years?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "When you put it that way…"

"And I know we've talked about how you feel, which is why I don't understand why you're going through with this, because frankly, this is ridiculous…"

"You know I can't tell her."

"I'm not saying tell her, I'm saying don't go through with something that won't make you happy."

"How do you know I won't be happy? Piper's a great person. I think we could have a nice life together." Reyna laughed bitterly.

"A nice life, have you heard yourself?! Did you not wonder why Hera hasn't given you her blessing? Even she knows this is wrong!"

"What would you suggest then? I marry you?!"

"I never said that." He stood up, towering over her, taking her face in his hands.

"I love you."

"No you don't." He shook his head.

"I should call this off. We should be together."

"Jason!" She brushed his hands off of her face and turned to go, but his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I meant it." His lips were underneath her ear, his breath ghosting across her skin, making her shiver involuntarily.

"And I won't say it back"

"I know you won't. And I won't make you." He pressed his lips against her neck, small kisses that barely touched her exposed skin.

"Jason, we're at your engagement party…" She protested, but she already knew that she would give into him. He was the only thing that made her weak.

"I don't care." His hands were sliding underneath her dress now, and she gave herself fully over to him.

 _Jason,_

 _I've thought about your offer, and have decided that I will be your best man. Unorthodox as it is, if it is what you want, then I shall do it. If you want to go through with this wedding, then I shall support you. I have the date of my graduation and have enclosed your invitation. I look forward to seeing you and your fiancée at the ceremony. As Annabeth is graduating that day too, I think Sally is hosting drinks at her apartment, and I hope you will also come to that. I have also finally heard back from Nico, and he is doing well. He has made his way to Russia on his tour of Europe, and he hopes to be back in time for the graduation. Frank and Hazel send their regards too, they have settled back into life in New Rome after their visit. Frank is still praetor, and Hazel has finally begun college. She's undecided yet, but she has time to figure out what she wants to do._

 _I hope to see you soon._

 _Reyna_

She felt like it was mocking her. The little stick was telling her something that wasn't even possible. For years, she had been told that this would never happen, but the pink plus sign was mocking every doctor she had ever had.

She had to tell him.

No, she couldn't. He was engaged. It would ruin his life. They had never been careful because they never thought that this was a possibility. But now?

She had to be rational. She had to make a doctor's appointment and find out if this was actually happening.

Oh gods, this was actually happening.

 _Jason._

 _I need to tell you-_

 _We need to ta-_

 _I'm-_

 _I don't know how to write this letter._

The waiting was killing her. The room was clean and minimal, and all she could hear was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Didn't the doctor know that she needed to know _now?_

It felt like an age before he finally came in.

"Miss Ramirez, it's nice to meet you, I am Doctor Matthews. I believe you're here for your first scan, is that right?" She nodded.

"Don't be worried, this is something I do every day. Are we expecting anyone else?"

"No. He doesn't know yet. I had to be sure first." She looked down, cursing the tears that threatened to escape.

"That's no problem! I just need you to lie back for me and get as comfortable as you can, and we can begin." She lay back and lifted her shirt and he spread the cold jelly on her stomach. As soon as he placed the device on her abdomen, the heartbeat echoed around the room.

"How is this possible?" She asked

"If you don't know how this happened, then I am quite worried about you, Miss Ramirez."

"No, I know that… I just… I was told this would never happen. That there was no way I would ever have kids…" He took the device away and wiped the rest of the jelly off.

"Sometimes doctors make mistakes. And sometimes people's bodies decide that whatever ailed it before, doesn't matter because it's going to do what it wants to do. Look, I've got some pamphlets over here, I can see you're obviously unsure about this…" He stood up and picked up some leaflets from a stand on his desk. "I would advise you to think seriously about all options here, and I will say that it is your decision what you do." Reyna took the leaflets, pulling down her top. "Please keep me informed of what your decision is, so I can continue to take care of you, no matter what happens. My first priority is taking care of you." Reyna thanked him quietly and stepped out of the room.

"Reyna, fancy running into you here!" Reyna scrambled to put the leaflets into her purse before turning to face Annabeth.

"Of all the doctors in New York, you just had to come to mine, didn't you?" Reyna plastered a smile on her face. Annabeth shrugged.

"This place is one of the best in the city, odds are we've both researched before making a decision!" Annabeth smiled. "What are you doing now? I've got some time for coffee before I see Percy this afternoon if you want to… catch up?"

"I'm busy actually, I've got to see if I can catch someone before they leave- don't you have that big job interview to prep for anyway?"

"I could do that interview in my sleep, Reyna- don't worry about me." Annabeth looked worried, but Reyna couldn't be sure if she had actually seen the leaflets she had so hastily hidden.

"I really have to go do this thing, but I'll text you later and we can organise a time we're both free." Reyna was trying her best to act normal, but she was panicking on the inside.

 _Can we meet at yours? I need to see you._

Sure, Pipes is at her dad's this weekend.

 _Great, I'll be there in 15._

By the time she got to his apartment, she was almost hyperventilating. How was she going to tell him? Would she rip it like a Band-Aid, or would she ease him into it? Honestly, she couldn't see any good way to tell him.

He was pleased to see her of course. He swept her up into a hug and kicked the door shut before kissing her.

"I've missed you, Rey." She pushed him away. Time to be brave.

"I need to talk to you." He backed off, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"You should probably sit down." He sat, but the look on his face pained her.

"Rey, what's wrong? You're really scaring me." Deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

A beat.

"What?"

"I'm. Pregnant."

"…How?"

"When a man loves a woman very much…" She responded sarcastically.

"I know _how_ I mean, I thought you…" It wasn't something they had really discussed further than that first time, and it wasn't something they had had to discuss since, but the evidence of their infidelity was staring them in the face now.

"I thought so too. The doctor said that sometimes things change. And it's not like we were careful, I mean I think I can count the number of times we _actually_ used protection on one hand, and _gods_ Jason, I'm pregnant!" She sunk down onto the sofa, reality finally hitting her. There was a baby, a _very_ unexpected baby and she didn't know what to do.

"I don't know what to say." His voice cracked.

"There are options but…"

"But what?" She looked up at him, and he looked as upset as she felt.

"I never thought… I never thought _this_ was an option. And now I have the option… You know how important family is to me…"

"Are you really considering sticking this out?"

"Yeah. I am." He moved off of the sofa and onto his knees in front of her.

"I'll support whatever decision you make."

"Jason, you would have to claim the baby is yours. Your relationship will end. Your friends will judge you. The gods know they'll be judging me when they find out." She cupped his cheek with her hand.

"It'll destroy her if she finds out."

"I know."

"But I can't let you bring up our child without me."

"If you tell her the truth. The _whole_ truth, I will let you be a part of our lives. But, I don't think I can be your other woman anymore."

"You're not-"

"Let's not sugar-coat it, Jason. We've both known for years what this is."

"I love _you_ " She closed her eyes. As long as he was still with Piper, she couldn't allow herself to say it back.

She stood.

"I need to go."

 _Reyna_

 _Please speak to me. I can't let you go through this by yourself. Stop ignoring my calls._

She was 13 weeks gone before she told the rest of her friends. She fabricated some story about some soldier she met in a coffee shop who she had been seeing and now wanted nothing to do with her or baby. This enraged her friends, who all vowed revenge on this imaginary suitor. Jason had sat there silently the whole time, his shame covered by their friends emotions in that moment.

At 16 weeks, she noticed her clothes not fitting properly anymore. Sally volunteered to take her shopping.

At 20 weeks, she felt the baby move.

At 21 weeks, she went for the scan to find out the sex.

At 25 weeks, Jason told Piper the truth.

 _Reyna,_

 _She's kicked me out. I deserve it. I'll tell the rest of them in the morning. Please be there._

 _Jason_

It was definitely one of the more awkward gatherings she had been to. Watching Jason try and explain to their friends what had been going on and the truth of the situation would've been funny, had she not been living it. They kept glancing at her to confirm the truth, but she supposed her expanding stomach was enough proof.

"So… You guys were having an affair for six years, and no one knew about it?" Percy asked, confused.

"It wasn't something I was shouting from the rooftops." Reyna responded dryly, placing a hand on her stomach. Everybody else was silent. It was shocking to them, obviously, but they were such a loud group of people usually, it was unsettling for none of them to have nothing to say.

"I can't defend myself without sounding like a massive dick. All I can do is apologise to anyone I've hurt through my decisions." Diplomatic as usual, Reyna thought. His job in politics was doing him well.

"And I don't particularly want to talk about it any more than we have. This is something that's happening, and I'm not answering any more questions about it." Reyna announced to the room. "I've got stuff to do today, so if you all don't mind…"

She stood, but no one protested her leaving.

 _Jason,_

 _I suppose, seeing as you've probably overstayed your welcome at Percy and Annabeth's, you can live with me. You will be staying on the sofa however, as there is no chance I'm going to let you in my bed after what happened last time. I'm giving you yet another second chance. Don't blow it again._

 _Reyna_

Thalia slapped him when he told her. They got into a massive argument and had to be separated by the rest of the hunters. Reyna knew he deserved it, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him when he came back to their apartment with a black eye. (At some point, it had gone from being her apartment to theirs, she wasn't sure how) Hylla had been a lot calmer than expected, but she hadn't let her see Jason, and she couldn't exactly hit a pregnant lady.

They would never get everybody's approval. They knew Aphrodite had thrown a complete hissy fit when they had actually started their romantic relationship back up. They had heard nothing from Hera, but they supposed that was for the best. They weren't the most conventional of people, but somehow, in this completely ridiculous soap opera of a situation they were making it work.

 **I haven't written in a long time, and this situation popped into my head one day. I haven't read the last book, so don't have a go at me for anything I might have gotten wrong. I just wanted to write my babies again.**


	2. An Intervention

_Content warning: drugs_

 _On a happier note, this is definitely au in which none of BOO happened because I didn't read it. I have a lot of feelings about Jason's character and the only thing I really kept from the books is that he lives on the east coast now._

He'd been putting this off for too long now. He didn't keep secrets from his sister, and he'd been feeling guilty for not being able to tell her as soon as he found out about it, but everything else had been more important at the time.

He tentatively kissed Reyna goodbye at the door, trying not to let her see how nervous he really was. He didn't think he hid it very well, but she had enough stress on her plate with trying to figure out what she was going to do about her career and this baby- their baby. It was still strange to think that he was going to be a father. He'd known for a while now, but he hadn't quite wrapped his head around it. He was being as supportive as possible, but it was stressing the both of them out, and this was one of the things they had argued over the most. She wanted him to tell his sister, but he was reluctant to admit all of his sins to Thalia. She knew the bare minimum about what had been happening, but today he had to spill his soul to her. Reyna didn't even know the half of what had been going on in his head, but he couldn't hurt her by telling her. So he kept everything to himself. And now he felt like he was going to explode, he was so full of secrets and feelings that he didn't want.

He drove to Camp Half Blood in silence, not even putting the radio on. He thought about everything he had to tell her and how disappointed she was going to be with him. Forgive him sister, for he has sinned.

Chiron was waiting for him at the border to the camp. He'd made sure to arrive before the hunters were due so she could hear it from him first.

"I heard congratulations are in order?" Chiron asked, putting his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"I guess they are." He looked at the floor, his face burning.

"Look-" Jason held up his hand.

"It's all I've had to talk about for the last few weeks, so if you wouldn't mind, can I please just go to the cabin?" Chiron nodded in understanding. They began to walk towards the camp itself.

"I would avoid Dionysus then. He has taken… immense pleasure from this situation."

"Thanks. Do you know how long before my sister gets here?"

"They contacted not long before you arrived." They both stopped. "I'll tell her to come here the moment they get here."

"Thank you, Chiron. I appreciate it."

* * *

It wasn't long before his sister had sought him out.

"What's up Jason? Chiron said you had something important to tell me?" Thalia threw herself down on the bed next to him.

"Reyna's pregnant."

"She's… What?" She stood back up, backing away.

"I fucked up. Bigtime. And now she's having my kid… Gods Thal, why the fuck did I think this was a good idea?" He put his head in his hands.

"You are so stupid."

"I know."

"Like, literally, so stupid."

"I _know_ " Jason rose to his feet, pacing to the other side of the room.

"Does Piper know?"

"Piper kicked me out. There was no way she wanted to even be near me after I told her everything."

"I don't blame her." Thalia remarked icily. Jason immediately got on the defensive.

"I didn't mean to hurt her."

"But you had an affair with your best friend for six years. Right, I don't see how that wouldn't hurt her at all."

"There's no need for that tone." He turned to face her, his anger rising.

"No need?! Jason, you were sleeping with two girls at once! What did you think was going to happen!?" She shouted, striding over to him.

"It was more than two."

"…Excuse me?"

"I love Reyna. And I love Piper. But I just… Sometimes…"

"You're just like dad!" She screamed, the air around them sparking. She'd stooped too low to compare him to their father. Of course he wasn't like him. There was no way he would ever be as bad as Jupiter. But he knew how to push her buttons, and he had things to get off of his chest. In anger probably wasn't the best time to tell her, but he needed to confess to someone and not have it all bottled up anymore.

"Maybe I am! Maybe that's who the fuck I am!" He pushed her.

"I'm so fucking disappointed in you, Jason. I thought you knew better."

"Yeah, well apparently I don't. I pretend like my life is so perfect, you know. No one knows what really goes through my head. I like everything that's bad for me, Thalia and I know that absolutely KILLS you to know that your little brother likes to take drugs and hook up with random strangers!"

"Does Reyna know about this?"

"No."

He knew the punch was coming, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He staggered backwards, holding his nose.

"How many?" The punch had calmed her somewhat, but she was holding her hand, obviously in pain.

"I didn't keep count."

"How many girls?"

"It wasn't just girls, Thalia." She blinked.

"What did you just say?"

"I'm trying to tell you something important about myself, and you just punch me in the face. What a way to treat your little brother."

* * *

Their argument took an interlude as they decided to ice their wounds. But the ice on their injuries didn't mean that the ice had been broken on the situation.

"So when did you know you liked men too?"

"I'm not sure. It just kind of happened." Jason sighed. "You're the first person I've actually told."

"So what, you get messed up because you're ashamed?" Thalia pulled the bag away from his face to poke at the bruise forming on his face.

"Something like that, I guess."

"Then you need to get clean and sort yourself out don't you?" She put the bag back, a little too forcefully for his liking, but he deserved it.

"I'm having a baby, Thal. I never thought this was going to happen."

"Did you just think that you could keep your lives separate?" They'd moved to the lakeside to watch the sunset when they had picked up the ice. She picked up a rock and threw it into the lake.

"Yeah. I did."

"Are you ever going to tell her about this?"

"I don't know how to. What if she hates me?"

"She can't have been totally faithful to you for the whole six years?"

"I've never asked. I don't think so. We never really talked about other relationships."

"And do you think she'd hate you if you told her that you were into dudes?"

"I don't know how she'd take it."

"I think she's more accepting than you would think. She might not be happy, but she can't exactly be super mad, seeing as she knew you were a cheater."

"You make me sound like such a nice person when you put it like that." Thalia wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Sorry for being so harsh. I didn't know you felt that way. But you can be more open about it now and try and be a better person."

He hugged her back, not saying anything. What was there to say?

* * *

When he left Camp that day, he felt no better than when he arrived. He'd dumped all his problems and feelings on his sister and it had just created a rift between them that would take time to fix. He was driving back to the apartment, but panicked at the last moment.

 _Rey, it got too late and I stayed at camp. I'll be home tomorrow._

He parked the car and pulled out his wallet. He didn't have much left, but there would be enough. He needed to be out of his own mind for a while. He hated himself for it, but real life was just too much at the moment. The little bag in his hand would take him away for long enough to forget about his problems. Just enough to make him the Jason he wanted to be. Happy, confident Jason. He'd talk to Reyna soon. At some point. He fumbled around in his pocket for his keys. He was going to try and be a better person. Tomorrow.

* * *

Opening his eyes, he squinted against the sunlight. A body moved in the bed next to him and he knew he wasn't at home. Holding his head as he sat up, he groaned.

"Morning." He looked at the guy next to him.

"Sorry… I was really wasted last night, did we…?"

"No dude. You were so drunk, I thought I should take you home, but you insisted you couldn't go there so we came back here instead."

"…Thanks." The guy smiled. He was good looking, and Jason knew why he probably chose him last night.

"No problem. You want breakfast or are you going to head back to the girlfriend?"

"I told you about that, huh." Jason looked away.

"I'm not judging. You're confused, I get it." The guy shrugged. "You should probably talk to her though. Pretending like nothing is happening never ends well."

"You are pretty wise." The guy threw a shirt at him.

"I'm amazing, I know. Get dressed, she'll probably be worried about you."

* * *

He felt like he was returning with his tail between his legs. She had no way of knowing what he'd been up to, but he still felt awful. He heard voices from the apartment, which quickly quietened as he put his key in the lock.

He certainly hadn't expected his sister to be sat on his couch with Reyna. He also hadn't expected Reyna to be crying, Thalia holding her hand. They both looked at him, unreadable. Reyna rose, trying to compose herself.

"Where were you last night?" Her voice was quiet but steady.

"I… I was at camp."

"Don't lie to me."

"I was!" She crossed her arms, her eyes piercing his.

"I've had an interesting conversation with your sister." Jason looked around at Thalia, who was avoiding eye-contact like he had the plague. "You left camp after you talked yesterday."

"What else has she told you?"

"Everything." Jason stepped back.

"So… What now? You want me to take my stuff and go? I totally get it if you hate me."

"Have you had sex with anyone else since we've been together? Not the whole time, just since…" She gestured at herself. Gods, he wished his sister didn't have to be here for this conversation.

"No." He put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

"Would you have told me?"

"Yes! For the gods sake Jason, you can't keep everything bottled up like this! It's not healthy! And from what Thalia has told me, it's making you miserable! There's nothing wrong with you liking-"

"Rey, I don't really want to talk about it." Thalia stood up.

"Well, we're going to. We're family, that's what we do. You might not like it, but you're going to accept it and we're going to make you happy again. Because you're punishing yourself for a stupid reason. And I will not see my little brother turn out like our mother. I'm not putting myself through that again."

* * *

And so had been the beginning of trying to get him on the straight and narrow. They'd all gone through the apartment with a fine toothed comb to find every last drop of alcohol or and stashes of anything stronger. They'd forced him to sit and have him listen to how they were feeling. Frankly, they were staging an unwanted intervention. They could see it wasn't helping, but they persisted anyway, which made him more miserable, knowing that nothing they were doing, out of love for him, was helping him be happy.

And so they carried on as normal. Or as normal as they could be. Thalia got permission to stay with them for as long as it took to help him, but nothing seemed to help. He got up in the morning, went to work, came home, slept on the couch and pretended like he was happy. It was all a lie, and the three of them knew it, but he wanted it to be the truth so badly, he almost convinced himself that this was how it should be.

Eventually though, he was ready to talk about it.

"Reyna, why don't you hate me?" He asked over dinner one night. Thalia had gone to the camp for the evening to give them some privacy, and he figured now was probably the best time to talk.

"Have you done anything wrong?" She put her fork down, clearly not wanting to push him.

"It feels wrong." He felt her hand take his.

"It's not-" He looked at her and she quietened.

"All my life, I've been expected to be this… Perfect person. I always had to do the right thing, what was expected of me. But at the same time, I was _constantly_ reminded who my father was, who my patron was. If I stepped out of line or did something wrong… It's all I would hear from _everybody._ And then when I started to get older, people started to tease me in different ways. It became more about how my… _tastes_ might reflect my dad's. If I got too close to a guy, they'd start talking about Ganymede- who is actually pretty cool, I've met him a couple times- eventually people got too wrapped up in the war to remember, but I did. And then I came here and…"

"Jason, there's nothing wrong with how you feel. I don't care that you like men too. What I care about is if you're going to try to be a good father. If you're going to be be here for me and help me, because now I'm thinking about it, I really don't know if I can do this by myself."

"I don't know why you're not mad at me."

"I think I got too wise." He hugged her then, one hand resting on her stomach. In a few weeks, they were going to be a family. It was self indulgent of him to be so wrapped up in himself when there was an unborn life that was his whole world before it had even seen daylight.

"If you need space to figure things out though, I understand." Reyna mumbled into his shoulder.

"I think I just needed to admit it to myself. And hearing that you don't hate me is a big plus." He pulled away. "Even knowing what I've done in my past, and you still don't hate me just a little bit?" She smiled.

"How could I hate you for trying to be a normal young adult? It's not like I was perfect either."

"You, not perfect roman Reyna? Gods, what is the world coming to!" She punched him in the shoulder.

"We weren't together then. I can't be mad at you when I was the other woman, as horrible as it is to admit that. If you were trying to figure out what you wanted, I can't say that I wasn't doing the same."

"You weren't as self destructive as me." She laughed and stood.

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised."

Thalia retuned that night to find Jason had finally moved from the couch. She didn't know what had been said, but something had definitely happened.

* * *

After that, it just became part of their lives. People didn't make a fuss over it, and Jason didn't go out of his way to make it a bigger deal than it was. He dated both men and women during the times him and Reyna decided that they needed their space (which happened more often than people would've thought for people who were so happy when they were together, but their personalities got in the way and their arguments were legendary) They would always return to one another though, and that was the most important thing. His family was security to him now. It was something that had been denied to him for so long, that he would cherish every moment they had together, refusing to miss any of his child's milestones.

The only time it would get in the way was when his career in politics really took off, but that's a story for another time.

 _That was more than I was going to write. It was supposed to be a little off shoot of the main fic, of Jason telling Thalia about the baby, but it turned into a character piece of how I think Jason would be when he gets older._


End file.
